


a touch of home

by orphan_account



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Ambiguous Relationships, Canon Compliant, Fluff, M/M, Platonic Male/Male Relationships, because i do love their relationship irl so much, not a lot of comedy in this, somewhat platonic but not really?, tbh jaehyun is only mentioned briefly, this is quite a reflective piece of work
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-30
Updated: 2017-06-30
Packaged: 2018-11-21 12:44:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11357769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Mark reflects on the growth and comfort of his relationship with Donghyuck throughout the years.He swears he's not trying to sound sappy.





	a touch of home

**Author's Note:**

> so this has been sitting in my writing app for a solid four to five months and today i decided to randomly publish it haha.
> 
> basically it's what i envisioned mark and donghyuck's relationship to be in real life and what donghyuck secretly means to mark (after all they really did grow up together).
> 
> hope ya'll enjoy it :")

Mark never knew someone could mean so much to him as Donghyuck could. 

 

He scoffed, never thinking that he would be that cliche dude but it was true. 

 

Lying down in bed and reflecting over the past busy year, he's come to realise how much the boy had added colour to his life and he couldn't imagine what he would've been like had Donghyuck not been there. 

 

Debuting in all three units was no easy feat, and it took a toll on both his physical and mental state. Despite all this, he still continued to occupy practice rooms late into the night, attempting to perfect a dance move, or maybe some lines he had to rap (not that any of it was ever perfect but he's trying). 

 

Mark knew very well that not everyone had such a great opportunity as he did to have so much exposure at such a young age and although it weared him out, he wanted to make full use of what he had so graciously been given.

 

Throughout all this, Donghyuck had been his saving grace. 

 

Being around older members in the beginning was a bit difficult for Mark to handle. Having been from Canada, it was a little difficult to adjust to the hyung-dongsaeng role. He had never really thought much on age difference before, but in Korea, much importance had been placed on it and Mark found it a bit stifling since he sometimes felt he could not say what he truly wanted to.

 

That was not to say that the older members were adamant on it, but he decided that he should be adapting more to Korean Culture since he was, after all, Korean and he would probably remain here for a very long time, perhaps permanently.

 

With Donghyuck, however, he felt free. Age didn't play a big part, it was mainly Donghyuck's loud, dizzying personality that brought Mark closer. 

 

From day one, Donghyuck was the one who had been approaching him, talking to him, easing him even more into the rough life that was of a trainee. 

 

Mark could never understand the phrase "opposites attract" till he met Donghyuck. Whilst Donghyuck was like the bright, burning fire, Mark was more like the calm, soothing waters. Mark can't even believe he just compared Donghyuck to fire and himself to water ~~like since when did he wax poetic~~.

 

He was the one who always looked out for Mark despite his younger age. Be it a few simple words that struck Mark deeply, or a reassuring pat on the back, Donghyuck was always able to comfort Mark when the others could not.

 

Conversation with one another flowed like a spring, as did the inside jokes.

 

While in the waiting room, they were often each other's company, having become so close due to the years of shared experience and easy friendship. Topics ranged from the usual kind— perhaps music they'd been listening to recently— to completely ridiculous stories such as "I walked into Jaehyun's room yesterday and he was watching Barney."

 

That, however, didn't stop them from bickering with one another from time to time. Donghyuck somehow seemed to be able to bring out the argumentative side of Mark, and they often disagreed over the simplest of things. They had even bickered over which was better on toast— nutella or strawberry jam.

 

Even so, they still managed to maintain a close relationship. Bickering was part and parcel of it.

 

Pillow talks also occurred every once in a while now that they roomed together and it was then, and only then, did they talk about their fears, dreams and thoughts about the members. Somehow, talking at night made one more honest and it helped that they were both on their own beds, faced away from one another. 

 

Of course, they never spoke to each other of it, but both of them shared mutual trust in one another and knew that they would keep their secrets.

 

He thought back to when the managers had first given wind of the fact that Donghyuck would most likely be joining NCT 127's lineup. 

 

He had felt so many emotions at the announcement. He was ecstatic. Proud. Overwhelmed with feelings of relief for a reason he tried not to think of, but knew very well.

 

Donghyuck had always been there for him, from when he sprained his ankle due to a dance move, to when he racked his brains for lyrics that were never penned down. And now, the fact that he was going to debut alongside Mark, made Mark feel like he was once again complete.

 

They spent that very day hogging the couch and TV, continually putting in movies to watch despite the fact that they mostly excitedly discussed the idea of debuting together. 

 

He thought of the emotion that swelled up inside him when Donghyuck expressed his excitement at the scrapyard where they were about to take their teaser photos. 

 

"Wow, you look different." Mark had told him, unable to look away.

 

At those words, Donghyuck puffed up his cheeks and posed, both hands coming together under his chin to resemble that of a flower. 

 

"I look so handsome, right?" He laughed.

 

Mark rolled his eyes, a mock groan of annoyance leaving his lips. 

 

It was with this joking manner that Mark felt more at ease throughout the entire promotion for Fire Truck. Somehow, Donghyuck always kept the mood light-hearted and fun with his endearing antics and bouncy energy. Mark was sure that he was not the only one who appreciated Donghyuck's special ability to keep everyone happy. 

 

It was later on that both of them had to juggle NCT 127 activities as well as preparation for their debut as NCT Dream. It was considerably one of Mark's most difficult times of 2016, having to cope with 127's busy schedule, practice, and to top it all off— school. 

 

He was ever so grateful for Donghyuck, who was going through the same stressful situation and could understand better Mark's feelings of frustration whenever it reared its ugly head.

 

Donghyuck was there to constantly support him. While his words were few (which Mark appreciated), his simple, easy-to-miss actions (that Mark would never miss because he's too attached to Donghyuck) showed concern and love.

 

Mark liked to think that he was thought of the same by Donghyuck. Mark knew that he was often awkward in providing comfort for others, but he had put in his best efforts to cheer up Donghyuck when he was feeling down and he hoped that Donghyuck thought of him as a good friend too.

 

Although Mark was relatively good friends with the rest of NCT, Donghyuck was special.

 

He reminded him of his home back in Canada.

 

Every time he bickered with Donghyuck, or maybe cracked a joke or two, an image of him and his brother doing the same came to his mind. 

 

Perhaps that was what drew Mark closer. Deep in his subconscious, he must have been yearning for someone who formed even the slightest bit of semblance of his childhood.

 

And Donghyuck fitted so perfectly.

 

His "good mornings" always seemed to mirror his mother's warmth, his rambunctious laughter somehow took after his father's. 

 

Mark, in some way, found home in Donghyuck.

 

Not that he would ever tell him that, of course. There are limits to pillow talks and Donghyuck would probably just hold this against him forever.

 

 

 

A voice shook him from his thoughts.

 

Mark's eyes set themselves on the tan boy, whose face held an unreadable expression.

 

"You okay? I've kind of been blaring Michael Jackson the past fifteen minutes and you haven't even moved a finger." Donghyuck said. "It's kinda creepy." 

 

Now that he mentioned it, Mark could hear the lyrics of Thriller being belted out from Donghyuck's mini speakers. 

 

He dwelled in the fact that he had been so absorbed in his thoughts of a certain someone that he had even managed to block out everything. 

 

This unusual long silence brought concern to Donghyuck's eyes.

 

"What's wrong?" Donghyuck asked, his book now set aside. 

 

Mark paused for a moment.

 

 

 

 

"Nothing." Mark smiled as he said so, and he meant it.

 

 

 

 

How would anything be wrong with Donghyuck by his side?

 

**Author's Note:**

> if you happened to spot any grammar mistakes feel free to drop a message!
> 
> thank you for reading and have a nice day!! :)


End file.
